Drake Merwin, Jr.
Throughout the whole series, Drake Merwin is shown to be a sadistic psychopath, and was the second character in the Gone series to have met The Darkness and been affected by it (the first one was Lana, also known as the Healer). He was sent to Coates Academy for shooting and nearly killing his neighbor. In Gone, the darkness gives him a whip-like hand after his old hand was burned off by Sam, whom he still holds a strong grudge against for it. He was Caine's main henchman until near the end of Hunger, when he attempted to kill Diana. He was believed to be dead after Caine collapsed a mine shaft on him, but it was later revealed in Lies that he had been brought back to life by the Gaiaphage and now shared a body with Brittney. He doesn't enjoy it, but by Fear, he's become totally loyal to the Gaiaphage. This makes her less off a hassle for Drake. Drake has a strange obsession with Diana and Astrid, as he says they look like pugs on segways, and acts as one of the primary antagonists of the series. Background Drake was the son of a County Sheriff, who noted his phycopathic tendencies, even in his childhood, making for an apparently strained relationship, indeed, the only father-son moment that is ever mentioned over the course of the book is the time when Drake's father had taught Drake how to use firearms, something which would prove a life lesson for Drake. At some point between his arrival at Coates, he shot a local boy who tended to insult him with an air rifle, earning him a place at Coates. Appearances Gone Drake arrived in Perdido Beach with Caine and the other Coates Accademy kids a few days after the adults disappeared. When Caine took the town over, he appointed Drake as sheriff and made a rule that allowed him to do whatever he thought was necassary in an emergency. It didn't take long for him to become one of the most feared people in the FAYZ. After Caine captured Sam, Astrid and Little Pete, Drake was left alone with Astrid, where he slapped her and intimidated her into calling her younger brother a retard. They then teleported out of the room and Drake spent the rest of the night looking for them, burning down their house and almost catching them at Clifftop in the process. Caine took him, along with Diana and Jack, back up to Coates to film Andrew "poofing". Later on, Drake spotted a fire in the distance and knew Sam and his friends were coming up. He managed to catch them, bring them up to Coates at gunpoint and had Sam and Astrid's hands encased in concrete, but Little Pete freed their hands after Sam distracted Drake. Drake tried to shoot little Pete, but Sam burned his gun arm so badly that it had to be cut off for him to survive. He had Panda drive him into Perdido Beach to find Lana, because he thought she might be able to heal his arm back. He forced her to leave with him, but driving through the desert they ran into Orc and Howard, who were being attacked by mutated coyotes. They made a deal, in which they went to the Gaiaphage and Lana healed Drake's arm into a ten-foot long whip. Lana tried to just heal his hand but she couldn't. Later on, he and the coyotes went into town and fought on Caine's side in the battle that took place on Caine and Sam's birthday. However, Drake spends very little time in the main part of the battle, instea d fighting an aggravated (and by that time, fully mutated) Orc, who was,at the time, intoxicated. Hunger In Hunger, Drake had taken charge while Caine was out of it from his encounter with the Gaiaphage. When Caine came back he wasn't too happy going back to being second in command. When Caine took over the power plant, Drake came up with the idea to put up wires in case Brianna ran through at super speed, which caused a conflict with Jack. ]] Drake stayed back at the power plant when Caine left to bring a fuel rod to the mine. He waited for Sam to walk into the reactor room and threatened to cause a nuclear meltdown if Sam didn't stay and let him torture him. Drake whipped him to near death, but Brianna intervened, running through and cutting off his whip arm. Drake then caught up with Caine and went along to the mine shaft with him. At the mine shaft, he became angry with Diana and attempted to kill her, which made Caine very upset. He used his telekinetic powers to throw the fuel rod at Drake, impaling him on it, and then collapsing the mine on him. After this, everyone presumed Drake to be dead. Interlude Between Hunger and Lies In between the novels, through the "Grey Slug" that was the Gaiaphage pulsating on Brittney's body, Drake was embedded in Brittney's body, forcing him to share the body with Brittney, similar to a split personality. Presumably, Drake spent a long time trying to dig out of the grave that Brittney had been pushed into, while Brittney herself attempted to halt his progress. Lies At the beginning of Lies, everyone thought Caine killed Drake. Throughout the book various people reported to have seen him around town and the body of a boy who seemed to have been whipped to death was found, making many people think he was still alive. Their suspicions were confirmed near the end of the book, when Drake is seen outside the daycare by Mary and later was seen going after all of the kids who were headed for the cliff. Sam attempted to burn him, but he changed into Brittney. Even though she begged him to kill her, he wasn't able to get himself to do it and both she and Drake lived. In the end, everyone figured out that Drake and Brittney shared a body and they were kept in a basement, guarded by Orc and Howard. Plague In Plague, Drake was still trapped in Orc's basement, but he soon tricked Orc and escaped with Jamal. Brianna found him and tried to stop him, even cutting him into pieces at one point, but Britnney's immortality kept him alive and he was able to put himself back together. They then headed to the mine shaft to see the Gaiaphage, where Drake became commander of the mutant bugs and let them eat Jamal. He decided to go after Sam, sending half of his bug army into town and taking half with him to Lake Tramonto. Drake failed to get Sam though, as he and his friends were on a boat in the lake and came up with an escape plan that got them to the other side of the FAYZ. Drake then went to Coates, where he unleashed his bugs on Orc and tried to threaten Astrid into giving up Little Pete. Astrid threw her brother to the bu gs and Drake's whole army disappeared. Fear In Fear, Drake is said to be living with the Gaiaphage (in the mine shaft). He still shares a body with Brittney, and mentions that he would like to be able to talk about it with her, showing some human emotion. The Gaiaphage tells him to take Diana (in reality, the Gaiaphage wants her baby, but it's unborn at the moment) and on the way, he also takes Justin. Once he takes them to the Gaiaphage, it makes Diana's baby grow much faster and she gives birth to her in the mine shaft. Once Gaia (the baby) is born, Drake, Penny, Diana and Gaia go up to the surface to battle Sam and Caine. Gaia is said to be a ten-bar. The last we see of Drake is him running back to the mine with Diana and Gaia. Light *SPOILERS* The following event was released by Michael Grant as a teaser for Light during the NY Comic Con: At some point during the Novel, Brianna reveals to a surprised Astrid, a decapitated head of Drake split in half in a dufflebag mixed in with broken dead lizards and broken eggs. His head attempts to reform together but since both halves are facing different directions the process is incomplete. Appearance Drake is tall, slim and lithe. He has shaggy blond hair and gray eyes that are described as steely and/or icy. He is described as handsome. Many characters have described his smile as shark-like and evil. In Gone, he lost his arm after being burned by Sam and aquired a long, red, whip-like arm from the Gaiaphage. As of Lies and Plague, he shares a body with Brittney, switching between his and her's. Powers and Abilities. Drake started out not having any kind of powers, but he's always been good with guns and other weapons and most people in the FAYZ consider him more dangerous than most of the freaks. His whip hand also gives him a built in weapon, as he's capable of choking and whipping people to death with it, as he almost did with Sam. Drake was still technically a "normal" until he died (though maybe not because he still had his whip-hand and his connection with the Gaiaphage). He was brought back to life and combined with Brittney by the Gaiaphage, which gave him Brittney's power of immortality. Trivia It is revealed here that Drake has a grandfather who is revealed in Light. He is simply know as Grandpa Merwin, and talks about how Drake was always damaged after the death of his father, and how his stepfather has molded him into the person he is now. Quotes "Whip Hand." Drake beamed. "That's the affectionate nickname they gave me." (Gone) "It's not about who's got powers, moron. It's about who's not afraid. And who's going to do what has to be done." (Gone) "Do you still dream of hurting animals, Drake?" "No Doc, I dream of hurting you." (Hunger) "Slice and dice, slice and dice." (Hunger) "Are you bitching out the Gaiaphage? I'll whip the skin off you!" (Fear) "You (Howard Bassem) might be useful, but my dogs gotta eat." (Fear) "Hey Orc! Come down here so I can whip that little patch of skin off you!" (Plague) Category:People allied with Caine Soren Category:Male people Category:Bullies Category:Coates student Category:People that are alive in the FAYZ Category:Characters Category:Mutant people Category:People allied with the Gaiaphage Category:Gaiaphage side Category:Antagonist Category:Murders